NTSB Investigating Deadly Midair Collision Over Ventura County

CALABASAS (CBSLA.com) — National Transportation Safety Board investigators Tuesday confirmed that two people were killed in deadly midair collision over Ventura County.

Two people were killed and three others injured when two small Cessna 172 airplanes collided at 2:01 p.m. Monday about eight miles east northeast of Ventura, according to the NTSB and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

One aircraft, which was traveling eastbound on an engine test flight, crashed into mountainous terrain at Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas, killing the pilot and a passenger. Their remains have been recovered from the wreckage, Steve Whitmore, of the LASD, said.

The crash also sparked a small brush fire.

The other plane, which had departed westbound from Santa Monica Airport with an instructor and two others in training, made a hard emergency landing at Westlake Golf Course, located at 4800 Lakeview Canyon Road, in Westlake Village.

All three were transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The surviving pilot told the NTSB that he thought the plane hit a bird prior to the crash.

The investigation is ongoing. The NTSB’s preliminary results are expected to be published online within five days.